The Brilliance of Haruhi Suzumiya
by Aanusha
Summary: Another adventure of the SOS Brigade that wasn't chronicled by Nagaru Tanigawa. A fairly easy-going plot that brings back Ryoko Asakura to add spice to the muddle Haruhi makes of the world.
1. Chapter 1:Hints of Change

**Chapter 1: Hints of Change**

Floating in the vast nothingness of the largest black hole in the universe, the Data Integration Entity (DIE) emitted a faint humming noise that no one except its creators could hear. Its location rendered it impossible to be detected by other life forms, and the inherent properties of the black hole it was situated in made assimilation of data not only easier but a billion times faster. Inside the headquarters, the Supreme Egghead and his subordinates sifted through the endless streams of raw data, and kept their sensory organs peeled for any hint of change, of anything out of the ordinary, anything that might suggest the occurrence of something that was of academical interest to the Entity. They also kept tabs on the progress of the innumerable experiments that were being carried out by their staff scattered throughout the universe. Most of them failed, but the Entity knew the importance of each failure, because they taught it more lessons than the few successes did.

* * *

A million light years away from the Entity's headquarters, a nineteen year old boy choked on a piece of chocolate he'd been eating by way of a late-night snack.

He coughed, sighed, and got up from his bed, grabbing a bottle of water from the bedside table. Gulping down the water as he made his way to the bathroom, he stole a glimpse of his face in the basin mirror. A bleary-eyed, tousle-haired youth blinked back at him. He sighed again. He didn't know what he was doing anymore. His right hand flipped a switch automatically. His left unzipped his trousers mechanically. His right pulled the flush robotically. His feet took him back to his room without him noticing where he was going….

"Damn…." was the last word that came to his mind before he slammed into his bed, falling asleep almost instantly. The posters he'd been busy finishing lay in a crumpled heap at the foot of his bed. A soft breeze blew through the window, rustling the sheaves of paper and sweeping his hair out of his eyes, as, without anyone noticing it, all the clocks in the world missed a tick, the hearts of all living creatures skipped a beat, and water drip-dripping from taps and tips of icicles and stalactites froze in mid-air for an infinitesimally small fraction of a second.

* * *

A million light years away, at the Entity's headquarters, the Supreme Egghead was growing impatient. He felt like an Earthling farmer whose crops refused to grow despite receiving the best weather possible. For the last fifty "Earthling generations", he'd been keeping an unusually keen "eye" (used only as a figure of speech, for the Egghead did not remotely resemble any human being) on the planet Earth. It was, at the moment, the most promising place for strange things to occur. But nothing extraordinary had happened for a long time, and the Egghead was frustrated to no end. For a moment, it had a wild urge to manipulate the Earth's space-time constraints to force something to happen. Like a child pouring water over an ant's nest, simply in order to watch them scarper, panic-stricken. But the Egghead knew how unwise that would be—far more consequential than scaring ants out of their homes. It repressed its urge, and tried to concentrate once more on the endless mind-waves crammed with data that were now flowing through the room.

For the first few seconds, it skimmed through the routine stuff—the weather on Earth and its neighbours, a few updates on the ellipsis equation of the Earth's orbital, the Sun's new coordinates, shifted by barely 10 -7units on the _y-z_ plane and such-like.

Then something exploded inside the Egghead's "head". A cosmic blare of incoherent data showed up as a minute blip on the data-stream – a blip powerful enough to demolish a quarter of the Entity's headquarters, which it did.

The Egghead froze, paralysed for a moment, unable to analyze the situation. It was like playing a disk with a deep scratch on the surface—everything went haywire when the laser tried to read data from the mutilated sector. And replaying that particular stream would mean risking another quarter of the Entity's headquarters to almost inevitable destruction—something the Egghead couldn't possibly afford.

* * *

Back on Earth, the tousle-haired boy woke up with a start, his left hand reflexively hitting the screeching bedside alarm silent. Yawning widely, he stretched his feet into the pair of irritatingly fluffy slippers his sister had gifted him the previous Christmas. Getting up, his eyes fell upon the crumpled heap of paper at the foot of his bed. He bent down, picked them up, and unfurled what looked like three huge posters. Frowning slightly, he laid them side by side on his bed, looking at them bewilderedly. All three of them were emblazoned with a large, familiar symbol at the very top of the page. But other than that, they were completely empty. Frowning deeper than ever, he rolled them up tightly, and stuffed them into his satchel.


	2. Chapter 2: North High

**Chapter 2: North High**

Kyon trudged up the hill that day like he'd done on so many other days – accustomed to the abnormality of his life like any other high-schooler. He didn't budge an inch when Haruhi came up unexpectedly behind him and landed a good-natured Brigade-Leader-Special punch on his shoulder and shouted "Ohayou" in his ears. He didn't flinch when Taniguchi winked at him in class and pointed with his thumb towards Haruhi, twiddling the two of his thumbs together, mimicking lovers embracing each other in what Kyon took as a derogatory reference to Haruhi and himself. He didn't blush when Mikuru Asahina, clad this time in a scanty bunny girl costume, placed a cup of steaming green tea in front of him at the club room, accidentally brushing against him while doing so. He paid no attention to Koizumi, who enthusiastically invited him to a game of poker, and then suddenly and quite mysteriously disappeared from the club room. He did steal a glance at Yuki Nagato, but found her invariably immersed in a book about hi-tech hyper-space alien-combat titled "All's Fair in Programming and War".

That day was a normal day like any other, but unlike all other days, Kyon was preoccupied… No. Even his being preoccupied was not unusual. It would've been better to say that unlike _other_ days, Kyon was _not_ preoccupied about the next bizarre plan their Brigade Leader was going to spring upon them, but about what was stuffed in a corner of his bag.

"Ano… Kyon-kun? Daijoubu desu-ka?" A voice that felt like honey to the ears jerked Kyon out of his reverie, causing him to hastily wipe the modest beginnings of a drool-river from his chin. Miss Asahina, perplexed at his prolonged silence, was bent over him with a rather concerned expression on her face, oblivious of the fact that the bunny-costume she was wearing could not offer her mobility and cover at the same time, with the result that Kyon was forced to avert his eyes from feasting on the sight of the star-shaped mole on her breast.

"Kyon-kun…?" repeated Miss Asahina, and this time, Kyon was compelled to brush aside his cent percent hormone-driven fantasies in order to respond to her.

"Oh... hai… What was that?"

"Are you feeling okay?" Asahina-san repeated patiently.

"Perhaps you'd like another cup of tea?"

"Oh…! Yes please! That's very kind of you, Asahina-san."

"Douitashimashta!" After which, Mikuru gave him a smile that almost made him forget whatever had been bugging him the entire day.

Sipping his second cup of tea, Kyon suddenly noticed how quiet the club room seemed. Haruhi was conspicuously missing, and Koizumi less noticeably so. Yuki was still curled up with her book, and Miss Asahina, her duty of serving tea to the members present over, was sitting quietly at the table, gazing down at her lap and sometimes stealing furtive glances at Kyon, who never missed these occasions to give her a warm and reassuring smile.

Then, several things happened at once. The door burst open and Haruhi entered the club room making noise comparable to a small tornado. Mikuru Asahina gave a small scream and leaped up from her seat as, with a slight pop, Koizumi, sporting a pair of cat-ears, materialised in the exact place she'd been occupying seconds ago, grinning ear to ear like a Cheshire cat himself. Yuki Nagato stood up, and in one fluid movement, crossed the room, placed the book she'd been reading back on the bookshelf, took a new one, crossed the room and curled up in her chair once again, managing to complete the feat in less than half a second, so that no one saw her get up at all.

Kyon, despite being busy keeping an eye on Haruhi, didn't fail to notice Koizumi's new accessory, which, instead of making him snicker in derision, struck him as vaguely ominous. His attention, however, was quickly refocused on Haruhi as she violently pointed a finger at him and announced, "I've been making an extensive tour of all the club rooms in the school! Kyon! How come you never told me that all of them have decorated theirs with posters and what-not?"

Kyon, irritated with Suzumiya's accusing tone retaliated, "We've got enough things in our clubroom to be getting on with. There's the room-heater, and all those costumes, and the frog-outfit we got from the shopkeeper in summer. What more do you want?"

"We need posters, Kyon! Posters on what our club is about!"

"What _is_ our club about?"

Haruhi ignored his remark, and continued ruthlessly, "You'll be making them, of course."

"Isn't it _your_ duty to make the posters? Seeing as you're Brigade Leader and dominate over us lesser mortals?" Kyon argued.

"Huh? Of course not! The Brigade Leader is above all such petty things. Anyway, I want those posters to be put up by tomorrow, and Itsuki, Mikuru and Yuki aren't allowed to help you. You'll be making three of them. And the SOS emblem will be the header."

Kyon started slightly, but managed to hide his sudden movement by shifting in his chair.

"Three posters with the SOS emblem as their header... Okay. But what are they going to _about_?"

"Aliens, time-travellers, and espers of course!" Haruhi spat the words out as if they were self-evident.

"So it's _one_ poster on aliens, _one_ on time-travellers and _one_ on espers?"

"What are you, stupid? That's obvious!"

"Just checking. You want pictures of the lot or am I supposed to fill them with text?'

"Both."

And with that, Haruhi turned on her heels, and walked out of the club room with a curt "See you tomorrow."


	3. Chapter 3: The Alien, Part I

**Chapter 3: The Alien**

The day had definitely been a weird one. There was no doubt about that, thought Kyon, pedalling down the streets that night.

Miss Asahina had changed behind a screen (while he'd diligently kept his eyes glued to the ceiling, in case a mishap occurred, which, keeping in mind her klutzy nature, wouldn't be much of a surprise) and taken her leave shortly after Haruhi's departure. Koizumi hadn't returned, and Kyon had been left alone in the room with Nagato. It had been the perfect opportunity to voice his confusions to the one member of the SOS Brigade he trusted explicitly. But he'd hardly opened his mouth to speak when she'd gotten up, silently handed him a chit of paper, and exited the club room with a stack of books in her arms.

"Meet me at the park at 9:00." She'd given him a similar message the day she'd revealed her true identity to him. And now, cycling in the dark, he couldn't help feeling a curious tingling of excitement. After all, time spent with Nagato was always far from being uneventful.

Kyon stopped for a breather under the pool of yellow cast by a street-lamp. His watch read 8:45 pm. He'd started early deliberately, mainly because he couldn't contain his curiosity any longer, and also because he'd been 24 hours late the last time Nagato had called him out like this.

In his basket, there was an umbrella (the sky had been overcast since afternoon) and the roll of posters that he'd decided to take along with him almost as an afterthought. He'd never gotten around to asking the questions that were crowding his mind, he reasoned. And this late-night meeting was as good an opportunity to ask them as any.

* * *

Kyon reached the park at exactly 8:55. Nagato was already there, accompanied by someone the mere sight of whom made Kyon panicky. And considering the fact that the person in question had once tried to murder him, this was hardly surprising. Nonetheless, he parked his cycle, and sat down on the bench beside the two figures.

"Asakura... I thought you were... I thought Nagato...." Kyon was at a loss for words.

Ryoko Asakura, whole and undamaged, merely looked at him and smiled sweetly, a "double A plus" as ever. Kyon looked questioningly at Nagato, who waited a few seconds more before replying.

"The prototype Ryoko Asakura was terminated by me for functioning imperfectly and exhibiting aberrant behaviour. The present Ryoko Asakura is an upgraded version, created from the same Humanoid Interface template, but with different personality attributes."

This was an unusually satisfying explanation from Nagato, and Kyon pondered over it for a few seconds before posing his next question.

"So she's still a junior working under you as a back-up?"

"No. The present Ryoko Asakura and I possess the same hierarchical ranking, with different specialisations."

"Specialisations?"

"Human Behavioural Expert. She's been created to gather information on human behaviour in diverse situations. The Integrated Data Sentient Entity believes greater insight into human behaviour can help in greater understanding of the way Suzumiya Haruhi's brain works."

"So all this fuss is essentially in order to plumb into the depths of Haruhi's mind?"

"Yes."

Silence... Kyon felt new questions popping in his mind.

"So what did you call me here for?"

This time, it was Asakura who answered.

"There have been recent developments that are worrying our superiors. Specifically, the brief cessation of existence of the Earth, and a simultaneous time-jump that occurred 24 hours earlier."

Kyon raised his eyebrows.

"The cessation of _existence_? We're still here, aren't' we?"

Asakura took a deep breath. It was clear that in order to explain everything clearly, she'd have to begin at the beginning. Nagato never did talk much. Besides, _she_ was supposed to be the Behavioural Expert. _She_ was the one equipped with superior communication skills. She cleared her throat importantly, mimicking what she'd seen many humans do.

* * *

**Author Speak:** This chapter got so huge that I decided to split it into three parts. The 2nd part's not yet typed out. The 3rd part's still under construction, and will hopefully be uploaded within a week. I seriously hope it won't feel too overloaded with aliens-explaining-stuff -to-Kyon conversations. KyoAni cleverly split Yuki's explanation into two episodes, but this is all I could do. Hope you don't get too bored…

P.S: If you think this story's got even an iota of potential, please, please review it. It's my first time, and I definitely need as much help as I can get...


	4. Chapter 3: The Alien, Part II

**Chapter 3: The Alien**

**Part II**

"The main objectives of the Data Integration Entity are chalked out by the head of the Entity. With the replacement of Eggheads with newer, more competitive individuals, our objectives shift focus according to the priorities of the newly elected Egghead. This is easily comparable to the current human political system."

Asakura paused and looked questioningly at Kyon, who nodded in understanding.

"24 Earth-hours earlier, the Data Integration Entity noted a sudden anomaly in the density reading of the Earth's magnetic field." Asakura continued.

"It also observed the absence of Earth from its last recorded 3D coordinates. In other words, the planet Earth disappeared for a fraction of a second in the history of the Universe. Accompanying the sudden disappearance was a time-jump, which can be described as a void in space where there _is_ no time. Similar to a wormhole, except for its shape. While a wormhole is a space-time warp, the void of a time-jump is actually created by space sealing itself off. We call it 'closed space'."

The term made Kyon start.

"Closed space? Like the ones Haruhi creates?"

"Yes. After these events unfolded, the Data Integration Entity witnessed a 'passing of the baton'—the replacement of its Egghead—something that hadn't happened for the last 2000 Earthling-years. This was by no means a coincidence, an with the coming of the new Egghead, we received our newly updated objective: confirmation of the Dream Theory."

"Dream Theory? I can't say I've heard of _that_ one before..."

"The Dream Theory was originally a mere hypothesis. It's not exactly a new idea, but no one's yet been able to prove that it's true. Also, it's incomplete and inaccurate at present. The basic premise of the Dream Theory is that the world is what an individual dreams it to be."

"Though the dream worlds of most people are created and fuelled by common sense, the world of each individual is unique, and have small "anomalies". These anomalies may take the form of supernatural phenomena or wish fulfilment and are characteristic of the creator of that particular world. Since none of the worlds are identical, there is also no such thing as reality. In other words, there are infinitely many different realities, which is essentially the same as saying that reality doesn't exist."

Kyon remained silent. He knew none of it made the least bit of sense, and that he'd rather have a headache than try to figure out what any of it meant.

"However, it is suspected that," Asakura resumed, "Haruhi Suzumiya is the first and only person who can control not only her dreams, but the dreams of other people as well. This is what gave rise to the first instance of absolute reality—and Miss Suzumiya, the individual responsible for it, came to have the stature of God."

Kyon shifted uneasily.

"Wait a minute. I've heard this before. 'Haruhi is God, and whatever she wishes becomes reality.' It's the same as what Koizumi thinks. But I thought that Nagato's beliefs were closer to Miss Asahina's?"

"As one of the more advanced Humanoid Interface models, I have been bestowed with independent decision-making and rationalising capabilities, the possession of which does not, however, entitle me to question the rationale or motives of my superiors.", Nagato replied.

"Blind loyalty, eh?"

"Yes."

Kyon sighed softly and leant back against the bench, resting on his elbows.

"I must say that the Dream Theory sounds very unconvincing to me. I mean, there are quite a few loopholes in that logic.", he said after sometime.

"That's why it used to be a mere hypothesis.", Asakura answered."The brief disappearance of Earth was what brought it in the limelight again."

"I still don't see how..."

"Let me explain.", Asakura interrupted.

"The sudden disappearance of planets is not an everyday phenomenon in any part of the Universe. In fact, it's the first time the Entity's witnessed something like this. And, as it turns out, no one can explain it without the help of the Dream Theory. Assuming the Theory's true is the only way to arrive at a plausible explanation."

"And what explanation does the Dream Theory provide?", asked Kyon rather skeptically. This conversation was getting weirder and weirder, he thought, and he was having a harder time trying to keep up with everything that he was being bombarded with.

But Ryoko Asakura didn't reply. Kyon turned his head slightly, and saw her looking up at the night sky thoughtfully.

"We should probably get going.", she said, "It looks like it'll rain soon. Why don't we all go to Yuki's place? It's just a block away!"

"What? Oh, okay then. You guys want a lift on my bike?", Kyon asked out of mere politeness. Carrying Haruhi and Nagato some 15000 times during summer had been quite enough for him.

"Thanks, but no thanks, Kyon-kun. We'll be fine by ourselves.", Asakura smiled.

Nagato had already gotten up and started walking. Kyon sighed, raised the stand and mounted his bicycle. It was getting late, and as Kyon pushed off, a big fat drop of water splashed across his wrist.

* * *

**Author Speak:** Finally! I can't say I'm too satisfied with this part, mainly because of my _lack_ of _substantial _knowledge about scientific mumbo-jumbo. Yuki's dialogues are a pain to write, because it's extremely difficult to imitate her style, so I'm keeping them to a bare minimum. Anyway, hope you enjoy it. Part III will be uploaded soon. Look forward to it!


	5. Chapter 3: The Alien, Part III

**Chapter 3: The Alien**

**Part III**

Kyon leant the bike against the wall. He'd narrowly avoided being drenched by pedaling faster than a rat in a treadmill. In his haste, he'd forgotten all about his umbrella, which was still neatly folded in the basket, on top of the posters, shielding them from stray drops of water. Not that he could hold the umbrella while riding a rogue cycle, he thought. He could at least have been his usual archaic chivalrous self, and offered it to the girls. Kyon wiped his brow, deciding to wait for the two in the corridor in front of Nagato's apartment.

To his surprise, the door at the end of the corridor opened at the sound of his footsteps. Asakura came out, and cheerfully shoved him inside.

"Please come in! I'm sharing the place with Nagato at the moment. We'll continue our chat here, but only after I've made some tea for all!"

Kyon felt distinctly unsettled. He remembered having overtaken the girls on his bike. Keeping his confusion to himself, he sat quietly down on the bare floor. Across the table, Nagato was immersed in a book again. The one she'd been reading in the afternoon was at the top of a miniature mountain of light novels at the back of the room. Kyon took note of the simplicity and the minimalism of the décor. There wasn't a single thing in the room that oughtn't to be there. His eyes had just fallen on what seemed like the parts of a dismantled wrist-watch, when Ryoko Asakura entered the room with a tray laden with cakes, a china teapot, a sugar bowl, and three cups.

* * *

Sipping her tea slowly, Asakura asked mildly, "Now. Where were we again?"

She giggled softly, and looked up at Kyon.

"Why don't you show us what you've brought first, Kyon-kun? I can see a bundle beside you."She pointed at the roll of paper lying on the floor.

"Can't that wait? I would much rather you finish first."

"Oh, aah… Actually, it'll be easier if you show it first…"

"So you already know what these are?"

"I have a hunch, yes."

"Alright.", Kyon relented. Arguing would get him nowhere, he could see that. Unfurling the roll, he held up one of the sheets, and looked at Nagato and Asakura. Neither of them showed the slightest bit of surprise, or curiosity either.

"Well?", he asked impatiently. "I found them lying at the foot of my bed this morning. Three unfinished posters, exactly the way Haruhi told me to make later today. I've got no idea how they came to be there.

"We know that already Kyon-kun.", Asakura replied. "Didn't I tell you about the time-jump?"

"What's that got to do with this?"

"A lot. It's the reason the posters are here in first place."

Asakura sipped her tea again. Nagato remained silent, almost as if she preferred Asakura to do all the explaining. Kyon noticed an almost imperceptible air of sulkiness around her, and it did nothing to lift his spirits.

"The explanation the Dream Theory provides is this. Haruhi Suzumiya apparently stopped dreaming for a while. This is in itself is not unusual, since the dream worlds of most ordinary people undergo short periods on non-existence, when their creators are taking a hiatus. But since Miss Suzumiya practically _runs_ an infinite number of dream worlds originally belonging to different people, reality itself ceases to _be_ when she stops dreaming. Our new Egghead suspects that after she resumed her dream, Miss Suzumiya also changed tracks, that is to say, slightly changed the world from the way it was before. The reason for this is, as yet, unknown and unconfirmed. But the reason those posters were found at the foot of your bed is because of the symbol of the SOS Brigade painted at the top of the pages. Those symbols, as previously experienced, are a source of an inexplicably large amount of data, and were the only constants in the new world that was created by Miss Suzumiya about 24 hours back."

"Haruhi created a new _world_? But everything feels the same as before, doesn't it? Except these posters, I mean."

"The Entity, which is not affected by time-jumps and the destruction or creation of worlds, has positive information on this. It also knows the exact changes that took place 24 hours ago. Something happened yesterday that Miss Suzumiya wanted to change subconsciously. Something that perhaps didn't satisfy her. Or maybe disappointed her."

"There's something I've got to ask you, Kyon-kun. Do you know what day of the week it is?"

"Friday.", Kyon replied promptly.

"Correct. And have you got any memories of what happened throughout the day yesterday?"

"Well, let's see… I woke up, had breakfast, went to school, first period was geography… This is getting long…"

"So you have geography in the first period on Thursdays?"

"Ye…No... I mean, wait a minute. I made a mistake. That was Wednesday. We have geography on Wednesdays. Thursday… I mean yesterday, I…."

Kyon was baffled.

Asakura continued softly. "It's as we suspected. Though the time continuum hasn't been fragmented, people's memories of the past 24 hours have been wiped off."

"You mean nobody on this Earth can recall what they did on Thursday?"

Ryoko Asakura nodded her head sadly.

"So the posters… I could have made them myself?"

"Actually, you did. The Entity can confirm this."

"So how does the Entity know about the posters in my room? Is it omnipresent?"

"Omnipresence is neither the necessary nor the sufficient cause for omniscience.", replied Nagato quietly.

"As something that is closely related to the SOS Brigade, of course the Entity was keeping a sharp eye on both it and you, as well as the actions of the other Brigade members.", Asakura smiled faintly.

"So basically, we're being bugged?"

"In a manner of speaking."

* * *

**Author Speak:** Finally! The third installment of this chapter! Enjoy!


	6. Chapter 4: An Invitation in Pink

**Chapter 4: An Invitation in Pink**

The next day, Kyon was inordinately surprised to find that Haruhi hadn't turned up. After all that enthusiasm about the posters, it was the least she could do to show some appreciation. Kyon sighed.

"Yare, yare."

Much ado about nothing. Had all his efforts gone to waste then?

Realizing only too late that he hadn't managed to finish the posters, he'd been forced to turn to Nagato and Asakura for help. They'd been only too willing, and the three had slogged till three in morning finishing the tedious work. Secretly of course, Kyon had hoped that they'd do something cool, probably swipe their fingers over the sheets or something, and hand them back to him, fully completed. To his disappointment, both the girls had behaved as if they were… well, _ordinary_ teenagers, and had set about doing the work with their _hands_.

* * *

The clubroom was quiet once again, and Kyon noted Koizumi's absence with a hint of unfounded suspicion. It was unusual for the esper to be absent for two consecutive days. Mikuru Asahina was in her uniform, sitting quietly at the table. For some unfathomable reason, she didn't offer him tea as she did on other days.

Kyon sat down at the table, and gazed out at empty space, reminiscing the previous night, and whatever Asakura had told him. Everything had seemed too bizarre to be true, but at the same time, nothing she had said was illogical. That Haruhi had gift to change the world wasn't exactly new to him, but somehow, the idea hadn't quite reached home before last night. Maybe it was the presence of the posters and his missing memories that had done the trick. Kyon felt vaguely wronged. After all, why couldn't such powers be given to someone a tad bit more responsible, and less whimsical than Haruhi? And who was Haruhi to rob him of an entire day? Kyon sulked with resentment that was directed against nobody in particular…

*ritsch* The sound of paper rubbing against wood drove him out of his reverie. Miss Asahina had just slid a piece of pink note paper across the table towards him. Kyon looked at her, and caught her blushing slightly. She pressed her finger over her lips, winked, and got up to take her leave. Kyon turned his head sideways. Apparently, Nagato hadn't even bothered to look up. He nodded, and watched Mikuru close the door behind her.

* * *

**Author Speak:** A short chapter, made deliberately so because I was tired after writing the three-part "Alien" chapter. The next chapter is, unsurprisingly, "The Time-Traveler", which will hopefully be completed in less than a week. My apologies for my slow progress.


	7. Chapter 5: Chock Full O’ Memories

**Chapter 5: Chock Full O' Memories**

Kyon dropped his satchel on the floor, and slumped into bed, taking out the slip of paper Mikuru had handed him and holding it above his eyes with a dreamy expression. After about a minute of wistful gazing, he slipped his hand under the bed and drew out an old, battered-looking tin box. His aunt had given him a box of chocolates one Christmas, and his younger self had converted it into a treasure box stuffed to the brim with the baseball cards that he used to collect so fervently. Nowadays though, it was mostly filled with trivial things not worth sparing a second glance at. But still, Kyon kept them safe.

Opening the box, he placed the piece of paper on a small pile of differently shaped notes; Asakura's: the time she'd tried to kill him, Nagato's: the time she'd told him she was an alien, Asahina-san's: the time her adult self had appeared before him for the first time, and Nagato's again: given on the day he went and drew those lines on Haruhi's school field.

Wondering vaguely why she'd given him the note a full day in advance, Kyon slowly started to undress.

**Author Speak:** The story's nearly done in my head now. That's what I'd been doing this past two weeks. My apologies to those who've been kept waiting…. Chapter 6 is under construction. I don't know whether this has been done here by anyone else, but I'd like to upload one of my later chapters (the last but one, to be precise) right now. You can treat it like a "sneak peek" of sorts. Enjoy!


	8. Chapter Unknown: Sneak Preview

**Chapter ****: Fata Morgana**

A hint of shimmering silver shifted tantalizingly close, and moved away whenever he tried to focus. A pair of eyes hovered over him, watching quietly. Watching, like it was supposed to. Watching, like it had always done. Watching, because that was its job. Watching, nevertheless, with a trace of unspoken guilt.

Kyon groaned. His brains pounded against his skull, and his arms felt like baseball bats. He squinted and the objects of his surroundings slipped in and out of focus.

He felt a slight pressure on his hand—a small, firm pressure. A touch he'd never felt, but recognized instantly.

Nagato. As the image of the alien gradually stabilized, so did his awareness.

He was lying down, on an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room.

"Nagato…", Kyon said slowly.

She didn't reply. Kyon was unnerved to see her leaning slightly forward and breathing heavily, beads of perspiration glistening on her forehead. He'd never seen her exhibiting even the remotest signs of weakness or fatigue before.

"Kyon-kun..!"

Kyon sat up, and turned (with some difficulty) towards his left. Mikuru Asahina was clutching her knees tightly, her lower lip trembling violently.

"Asahina-san!"

"Kyon-kun….. I'm glad…. Oh! I'm so glad!"

"Asahina-san…"

"You just made it! I'm so sorry! I couldn't do anything, and if it hadn't been for Nagato-san…", Mikuru babbled incoherently, and broke into a fresh deluge of tears.

Kyon turned again. Nagato ran her sleeve across forehead.

"Transferring of organic data that has no back-up through multi-dimensional warps is generally executed by three or more interfaces.", she said calmly, looking down at her hands.

"Nagato…", Kyon repeated, his head too muddled to carry out meaningful conversation.

The alien looked up. Like the disturbance caused by creatures a thousand fathoms down showing up as ripples on the surface of a tranquil ocean, something stirred behind those calm blue eyes. She exhaled slowly.

"I'm glad you're back."

**Author Speak:** *sigh* The chapters just keep getting smaller and smaller… Hope it doesn't become something of a trend…


End file.
